


Knit-Picking

by CymbaltaCanHelp



Category: Persona 4
Genre: Eventual Smut, F/M, Female Protagonist, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-04-16
Updated: 2018-04-17
Packaged: 2019-04-23 22:41:44
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,198
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14342490
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CymbaltaCanHelp/pseuds/CymbaltaCanHelp
Summary: You might be wrong, but you could've sworn that you didn't push yourself down this spiraling staircase.  One rude encounter was all it took to nudge you off the edge, and now you're falling.  For him.





	1. Déjà Vu

**Author's Note:**

> DISCLAIMER:  
> -I'm putting this fic on explicit just in case I decide to do some gross shit lmao  
> -Kanji is intended to be 15/16  
> -You are intended to be older than him  
> HOWEVER, I don't plan on having age be a huge part in the story, so if you'd like, you can adjust the ages to your liking.

You were in a daze, on the floor of Junes, and all your grocery items were spilled around you. Whatever it was that hit you, hit you **hard**. You could still hear ringing in your ears.

“Hey! Watch where you’re going, punk,” a male’s voice yelled from above. You dizzily tilted your head upwards and was greeted with the most intimidating figure towering over you.

You quickly snapped out of your daze, hastily gathering up your items and standing up, muttering a string of apologies. You were honestly terrified and left to go checkout as soon as possible to avoid further confrontation. 

The encounter was so rushed that you could barely recall what the man looked like. You knew for certain that he was extremely tall and wore very dark clothes, but that was about it. Instead of dwelling on the matter, however, you allowed yourself to forget and continue on with your day.

_Yet, forgetting wasn’t so simple when you were hit with an insane amount of déjà vu the very next day._

You were again, in a daze, on the floor, but this time, countless pairs of feet were passing by in the school hallway and instead of your groceries laying around you, it was your books. You could’ve sworn you heard that same voice from the store telling you to watch where you were going, and that same dark clothed figure glaring down at you.

But you weren’t scared this time. In fact, you were beyond annoyed. Twice this week, you had been bumped into and knocked on the ground and both times, it wasn’t even your fault. Usually, you had a relatively high amount of tolerance, but with exams and quizzes surprising you each week, your mental state wasn’t so lax with even the slightest inconveniences.

“Yeesh. Why don’t you get out of the way?” the familiar voice more so demanded rather than questioned. The man had already turned around and was intent on walking away when you gripped the back of his school jacket, pulling him to face you. When you both were face to… chest, you grabbed the collar of his shirt and tugged him down to your level.

The man was inherently very shocked, especially at how fast you recovered and gathered your dropped items, but it was only for a moment before he resumed scowling harshly at you.

His voice was in a low growl:  
"What the hell do you think you're doing, kid?"

“You’re the one that needs to watch where they’re going, ‘ _punk_ ’.”

You quickly released the man before storming away, face heated in anger. The both of you truly wished for no further encounters, but Lady Luck never seemed to be on either of your sides.


	2. Stalking and Animal Crackers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You decide that you should apologize for your rudeness.

Your outburst didn’t even spark that much recognition between either the student body nor the faculty, but despite that, you were still ashamed of how you let some delinquent get the better of you. Your embarrassment wasn’t helped by the fact that for some reason, you kept seeing him more and more, whether it be in the halls, or even outside of school. Eventually, curiosity overcame you and you began "researching" him. You wouldn’t go as far as to call it stalking, but really, who would want to admit that they were stalking a person? Who would want to admit that they were stalking some mysterious, rude punk for no reason other than the fact that they wanted to. You wouldn’t necessarily admit it yourself, but deep down, you knew that was exactly what you were doing.

“Tatsumi, Kanji... Frequently skips school… Horrendous grades... Works at Tatsumi Textiles with his mother…” You were reciting bits and pieces of information you had learned while you laid on your bed. That last part remained in your mind, though. “...With his mother?” you questioned yourself. From what you had heard, it was _only_ him and his mother. 

You propped yourself up on your elbows, scanning your room. There were a few framed pictures of your family placed on shelves and your dresser, but that was it. You were completely alone as your family was constantly away on business, leaving you to cater to your own needs. It’s not as if you were struggling, though. Everything you could need was at your disposal. Well, everything but your family. Truth be told, you were numb to whatever loneliness you could be experiencing by the absence of your parents. It stopped bothering you.

On the other hand, you began to pity Tatsumi, rather than resenting him. Unlike you, he had at least some strong relationship with his mother. At least, that's what you concluded with him working with his mother and all. _It must be difficult_ , you thought, _to attend school_ and _work at the family shop. I couldn’t even imagine how hard it must be on the mother. Perhaps I was too quick to judge._ You knew yourself that everyone had their off days. On the day of your outburst, you were having one. It never even crossed your mind that Tatsumi was dealing with 10 times more stress than you ever handled in that semester. You began to feel even more ashamed of your actions. You were never a mean person, and you sure didn’t intend to begin now.

“I should apologize for my own rudeness,” you told to no one in particular. Getting up off your bed, you changed out of your school uniform into a plain turtleneck and skirt, grabbing your purse and any other essentials before leaving your house.  
-

You entered Junes in pursuit of snacks that Tatsumi might enjoy. You had read online that he was in a few cooking groups, and further “research” led to the conclusion that he enjoyed sweets. In that, you found yourself skimming items in the snacks and sweets sections of the Junes. You had put a few miscellaneous packs of goodies in your basket, but your eyes had fallen upon a particularly cute box of animal crackers. It was the last one on the shelf, in fact. _A perfect pink box sitting all alone, waiting for me to take it._ You smiled to yourself, placing the box into your basket, and checking out. As you exited the store, you thought you heard a faint yell of despair. _Did they say something about animal crackers..?_

It was probably just your imagination.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ik it's still short, but ig once i get into the m e a t of the story, it'll be more j a m p a c k e d


	3. Whose Fault Is It Anyways?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You stopped by Tatsumi Textiles to give Kanji his gift, but instead of finding him, you met his mother instead?

A small bell chimed as you stepped into the store. It was quite warm and inviting, contrary to the frightening individual that was said to work here. There were beautiful pieces of cloth displayed on racks and tables that you admired before returning your attention to your current goal. In your arms, you carried a woven basket filled with wrapped goods. On the top sat a card filled with apologies and an explanation as to why Tatsumi would be receiving the basket. Of course, you left out how you figured out who he was and such. He didn’t need to know that.

“Yes? How may I help you?” a woman’s voice spoke out from behind one of the racks. You turned your attention to the elderly woman that stepped out.

“Hello. I was wondering if…” You stopped yourself, uncertain of what to call Tatsumi. Would it not be suspicious if some unknown girl were to ask where he was? You shook your head and continued. “I wanted to know if Kanji-kun was here.” The old woman smiled gently when you used his first name. _Perhaps it would be less odd if she thought we were friends_ , you thought to yourself.

“No. He’s at the store picking up ingredients for dinner.” She eyed your basket curiously, noticing the cute arrangements and card. “Is that for him?”

Your cheeks might have flushed, but just barely. “Yes, ma’am. Would it be too much to ask you to put these in his room..?” Honestly, you were unsure of how to phrase that without giving away the fact that you were a complete stranger. On the other hand, you also weren’t trying to give this lady the idea you were into him, but then again, the basket might have been a bit overkill. Either way, it was too late now.

“You have such a pretty face, you know, dear?” Her statement caught you off-guard and if your cheeks had been the slightest tinge of pink before, they were now replaced with a deep red. The old woman chuckled and changed the subject back. “I’d be delighted to.” 

She took the basket out of your hands and before turning around, she asked, “What is your name?” You politely responded with, “L/N, F/N.” You did so with a genuine smile at the kindness of the old woman. _Surely with a mother as charming and nice as this, Tatsumi couldn’t be too bad, right?_

 

You thanked the woman and left quickly, hoping to avoid Tatsumi if he had happened to come back. Luckily, you were able to escape him this time and arrived at your home without any incidents. That woman’s kindness had lifted your spirits for the rest of the evening. The same thought crossed your mind once more.

_Surely with a mother as charming and nice as this, Tatsumi couldn’t be too bad, right?_  
\-----  
@ The Tatsumi Household, Later After You Left

Tatsumi had just finished putting up the dishes from that night’s dinner. As he was putting away the last dish, his mother appeared in the kitchen, grinning softly.

“A very pretty girl came by and left you a present,” she spoke in a teasing tone. Tatsumi spun around in confusion. _What? No one’s ever stopped by to give me anythin’. Much less a girl. Why would someo--_ His mother cut his thoughts off by saying, “I left it in your room. I hope I see her again.”

Tatsumi’s face was a mixture of confusion and skepticism, but despite the suspicion, he said goodnight to his mother and headed into his room. He spotted the cutesy basket sitting on the table. The basket was set right next to his own bowl of colorful yawn. He approached the table and sat down, pulling your basket closer to him. Tatsumi eyed the contents of it, but eventually settled with just grabbing the first item he saw: the card.

He raised an eyebrow as he read it.

-

**Dear, Tatsumi-san,**

**I brought you this gift basket to apologize for my outburst at school. You might not even remember what I’m talking about, but just to recap: We happened to bump into each other twice, which resulted in me on the floor in both incidents. The second time it occurred, I very rudely lashed out at you. Now, back to the basket. I’m giving you this to express how sorry I am for my behavior. I know that we are complete strangers, but I really do want to make it up to you. We don’t have to contact each other, but here’s my information. I’d at least appreciate knowing that you received the gift and if you liked it. Sincerely, L/N, F/N Contact Information: (XXX)-XXX-XXX**

-

_L/N, F/N?_ , Tatsumi thought. When he was reading over the note, he knew exactly what girl had sent him this. The same girl that pissed him off so much that he almost started skipping school again. He wouldn’t have attended, but his mother nagged him about it, and he wouldn’t dare do anything to upset her.

Tatsumi carefully set the note on the table and began pulling out each individual package, unwrapping them. To his surprise, he found many snacks and goodies that he liked. However, what shook him most was the very last package in the basket. When he unwrapped it, he saw the pink box. The same pink box he had wanted the day you went to Junes to pick out gifts for him.

He wasn’t sure how to feel. Was he supposed to be angry that you had done another thing to piss him off? But why would he be pissed when he had gotten the animal crackers in the end? Wouldn’t being happy be more reasonable? Tatsumi didn’t know.

The more Tatsumi thought about you and the incidents at school, the more he realized that it shouldn’t be you apologizing for being impolite, but rather him. After all, it was him that was always accidentally bumping into you so often. It wasn’t your fault at all.

_Great. Now I feel like shit. People just have to be nice, don’t they? Why couldn’t she let it go?_ Tatsumi stayed awake a little longer into the night than he would’ve liked. His mind was filled with thoughts about the way-too-kind girl from school. His mind was filled with thoughts about _you_.  
\-----

Your phone buzzed, slightly rousing you from sleep. Your bleary eyes looked over the clock which read something around 1 a.m. Your phone could wait until the morning. You pulled the covers over your head and quickly dozed back off to sleep.

The light on your phone still dimly lit up your room, the message remaining on your home screen. A few moments later, the screen turned back to black.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i honestly don't even remember how dialogue went w/ kanji's mom.  
> i remember that she said yukiko was getting prettier, so i just-
> 
> h

**Author's Note:**

> To anyone wondering what happened to my BnS fic:  
> HI!  
> So, I know I said I would try to work on that BnS fic some more, but I haven't really touched the game since. It's mostly because I enjoy playing with my friends, and they all have sort of abandoned the game, so therefore I have no drive to play as well. :(  
> There was a really interesting character that I would've written about, but since I don't know him yet, I won't. I really do hope that I can get back on with my friends so I can find more interesting characters to write fics about! :)  
> \- end of BnS talk
> 
>  
> 
> Now that that's over, I would really appreciate any feedback and such. I don't have anyone proofreading my fics atm, so if you spot any typos or sentences that seem too awkward, I would love to hear about it in the comments.
> 
> Also I know it's very short, but it's more of a pilot to see how many people would enjoy seeing it. I know the Tatsumi community is kind of small-


End file.
